Skin lightening products with dangerous levels of mercury

Some skin lightening ingredients work extremely well in the short-term, but are dangerous to our well-being and the long-term health of our skin. Mercury is one of them.

While the use of mercury in skin lightening creams have been banned for some time now, they are still produced and sold.

Below is a list of known skin lightening creams that contain dangerous levels of mercury (more than 1 ppm or one part per million).

The list of creams, lotions and soaps below are only the ones I’ve found, so it’s not an inclusive list. In other words — just because a cream is not listed here, it doesn’t mean they’re safe and that they are free of mercury.

In August 2011, Philippine watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition conducted a test of 12 brands of whitening creams. 11 tested positive for high levels of mercury (download pdf). Later in October 2011, the same group screened 25 brands and found that 19 contained 1,395 ppm to 52,100 ppm of mercury (none listed mercury as an ingredient).

Appearance and packaging

Most skin lightening creams containing mercury are either white or yellow in color.

Unscrupulous manufacturers can also easily change their product names and packaging to evade the authorities. The packaging for skin whitening creams containing mercury would also usually not list mercury as one of its ingredients, although sometimes ‘calomel’ is listed (calomel is mercurous chloride, a type of mercury).

In another case, sellers of the banned St. Dalfour whitening cream not only stole an existing European jam company’s brand name St. Dalfour for themselves, but also reused the company’s jam jars! Perhaps most shockingly is that these startling facts aren’t enough to deter everyone.

Skin whitening forums are rife with sellers insisting they have the “real” St Dalfour whitening cream, as opposed to the “fake” ones. All without a trace of irony.

Photos of some creams that contain mercury

Like the bulleted text list above, the below table is not an inclusive list.

Packaging is repurposed jam jars! See the original jars that came from a separate and unrelated jam manufacturer.

FRAUD ALERT. I’ve received fake comments from someone posing as different people (“Lars Darby”, supposed “CEO” of St Dalfour Whitening Cream + “Maria”, a commenter selling the “original” St Dalfour cream). The comments came from the same I.P address (click to view screenshot).

Questions about the safety of specific creams

Many have asked about the safety of specific creams in the comments section below – i.e. whether this or that cream is safe or if it contains mercury.

I’m quite unable to answer most of these queries since I’m not an independent testing agency, nor do I have the funds or backing to source for these creams and get them tested on my own at third-party labs.

If you look through the long list of banned products on this page, you’ll find that the information was largely gathered from various countries’ government agencies and customs departments. They are publicly available information. All I can do is try to put the scattered pieces in one place.

So there’s not much I can tell you about the safety of a specific cream if you’ve already done a Google search and came up with little to nothing reliable on it (although I think finding little good information is already an answer in and of itself — no matter what, you’ll be taking a risk with it).

If you have questions or are doubtful about the safety of any cream, I would advise that you err on the side of caution for the following reasons.

Long waits to identifying dangerous creams. There can be a long time lag between a cream with mercury first being sold and consumers being made aware that it is actually dangerous. Many creams that were found to contain mercury were only discovered to be harmful after many months (and sometimes years) of being sold.

Lax or non-existent government monitoring. Most creams that use banned substances like mercury are manufactured in markets where there is little or no reliable government monitoring and control. Sometimes there can also be the appearance of oversight, but no real protection. Low-wage public officials that are responsible for monitoring the use of banned substances in manufacturing can be easily paid off to sweep things under the rug.

Most creams pass through borders without being tested. Many product warnings on creams with banned substances actually originate from other countries’ customs departments during the import/export process. However, even this system is plagued with holes since only a small percentage of products that enter a country are actually chemically tested. So for importers/exporters, it’s really a game of numbers. It makes financial sense for them to continue shipping banned/harmful creams because they know that even if some will be seized, most will pass through trade borders undetected.

E-commerce has made it easy for anyone to package and sell creams without certification or licensing. Little-heard-of creams that are sold in small shops and markets may be made in homes, basements, garages, etc. It is very easy for anyone to mix, package, label and sell their own creams. Do a search on ebay or alibaba and you’ll find all the chemical ingredients and packaging needed for anyone to start selling their own “magic cream”, complete with shiny packaging and too-good-to-be-true promises. There are no guarantees with these creams except that the people selling them will make some money. All the risk is borne by the users who might end up with irreparable skin damage, be hospitalised, or worse.

Laws and systems do work to protect consumers to some extent, but they cannot guarantee 100% safety.

So the best protection is really ourselves and our own good judgement.

Here are two good rules of thumb

Use creams that are manufactured by large, reputable companies with a global presence. Do an online search before you buy. If you need more information, visit the company’s website. A good manufacturer will have a way for you send questions such as a working telephone number or email address.

Only buy creams that are sold in reputable retail stores. Your best bet is large pharmacy and supermarket chains (e.g. Boots, Guardian, Watsons) as their retail buyers have to adhere to certain safety and quality standards. They also have a reputation to maintain.

And if you want to save some money, create your own skin lightening methods using natural ingredients such as turmeric, lemon juice and vinegar. They’ll cost pennies compared to expensive creams and you’ll know exactly what you’re putting on your skin.

Hi, I started using Goree cream yesterday and found out from te internet that it has a hgih content of Mercury. but based on the package it is non toxic or nonpoisonous. I want to know if it is safe or not? Thanks

Hi Nini, there’s no good information on the ingredients in Goree soap. But you already know Goree cream contains mercury so that should tell you that it’s a risk.

With no disrespect intended, here’s an interesting thought exercise — if Restaurant ABC adds poison to all of it’s pasta dishes, will you ask them if there’s poison in their pizzas and then proceed to order a pizza if they say no?

Or would you just never go to that restaurant?

Putting poison on our skin is akin to eating it as the chemicals inevitably gets absorbed. Why take risks with dodgy creams or soaps if you won’t take a risk with what you or your loved ones put in your mouths each day? It’s the same thing.

Hi Hessa..known from tv advertisement and internet that GLOW SKIN WHITE are currently popular among Malaysians here..does it contain any Mercury or other harmful ingredients.?good to know you had done alot of research about this..would like your advise on this..tq

Hi Vani, thanks for highlighting that cream. I did some searching and yes, Glow Skin White was tested by Pharmacy Laboratory Services and was found to contain mercury. I’ve updated the list above to include this information now.

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